But the CoolBrands list, co-ordinated by The Centre for Brand Analysis, puts the US firm top of a shortlist of 1,200 independently identified brands, ahead of the Google-owned YouTube and Aston Martin in third.

In a strange twist, Apple's iPhone 5 launched with iOS 6, Apple latest operating system, which drops YouTube as a pre-installed service on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch.

Apple is increasingly clashing with search engine giant Google, which came in fifth place on the list, as part of the global battle for the lucrative mobile devices market.

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The panel of influencers score each brand on factors such as "innovation, originality, style, authenticity, desirability and uniqueness", before the British public cast their vote.

Almost half (45%) of the CoolBrands list was made up of of technology and media brands, up from only a quarter last year.

The highest movers were Twitter, Skype and Nikon, while YouTube was boosted by eight places from last year.

Interestingly, Facebook did not even factor in the top 20, following its disastrous debut on the US stock market in May.

Alongside a record number of online brands, the list also highlighted the importance of 'affordable cool', as 15% of brands featured were free to use, such as Google and BBC iPlayer, and around 15% cost under £10, including Häagan-Dazs, Ben & Jerry's and Vogue.

Luxury brands, such as Ferrari, Chanel and Vivienne Westwood, all slipped down the list. Other notable brands to fall out of the top 20 included Nintendo, PlayStation, Rolex and BlackBerry, the smartphone maker that suffered a major service outage last week.

Stephen Cheliotis, the chairman of the CoolBrands Expert Council, said that the "age of austerity" in Britain has shifted the perception of cool from luxury brands to more affordable services that still "provide us with pleasure".

"The presence of the online brands like BBC iPlayer, Twitter, YouTube and Skype are a great case in point," said Cheliotis.

"Whether watching our favourite shows online, sharing opinions, viewing comedy clips or speaking with friends from across the world, these brands bring us inexpensive entertainment and enjoyment that we appreciate and value highly.

"Perhaps, reflective of its lack of success since becoming a public company, Facebook has failed to join its peers in the top 20."

Only 30% of the top 20 cool brands had a British heritage in a list dominated by international companies, a continuing trend over the last five years. Cheliotis said that this is very sad for UK plc.

"Despite Team GB's success it remains unlikely that next years top 20 will see any change in that pattern," he added.

"It will be interesting to see next year if the luxury brands fight back, or whether the list continues to feature so many online brands together with the tech giants."

What do you think of the CoolBrands list? Should Apple be top or is another brand even cooler? Tell us below in the comments...